House and Senate leaders said that overall their two-year starting-point plans — the initial step in the budget process — will set the stage for a thorough discussion of state priorities and the need for an honest budgeting process.

“We've got people coming into the state of Texas, voting with their feet for opportunity, and to maintain that opportunity, we need to make sure that we keep our spending under control, fund our priorities and keep our taxes low,” Dewhurst said.

Rep. Jim Pitts, a Waxahachie Republican who serves as House budget chief, said the proposal “will allow the House to have an open, thorough, and transparent debate about appropriate funding levels for education, infrastructure, and services for the citizens of this state.”

The Senate version totals $186.8 billion in state and federal funds, compared with $187.7 billion for the House, over two years. Each would provide for a small percentage increase in state general-revenue spending.

A key difference is that the House presumes more people will use Medicaid while the Senate provides only enough money to maintain the growth that occurred in the current two-year budget cycle. Neither includes money for anticipated increases in cost due to factors including medical inflation.

Education groups and others lashed out at the funding level, which House and Senate leaders said would cover enrollment growth but which wouldn't reverse the total $5.4 billion in state funding cutbacks made by lawmakers who two years ago were told they faced a massive revenue shortfall.

More Information

Eva De Luna Castro of the Center for Public Policy Priorities, which advocates for programs for lower-income Texans, said, “This comes nowhere near what's needed to fix our schools and ensure access to health care and do something about congestion on our roads. ”

Both budget proposals presume lawmakers will pass a supplemental spending bill in the current two-year budget period, which ends Aug. 31, to cover hanging expenses, including a large Medicaid IOU.

The expenses were left unfunded and other accounting maneuvers were used because Comptroller Susan Combs forecast such a tight revenue picture.

Combs now is predicting enough money in state coffers to cover those expenses and growth in the next two years. In addition, she said the Rainy Day Fund, a state savings account, is on track to grow to $11.8 billion through 2015.

Pitts said the House proposal would come in $5.5 billion under what Combs said was available and $3.7 billion under a spending cap that ties appropriations to economic growth.

Among its provisions, the Senate starting-point measure doesn't rely on nearly $5 billion in funds collected for a certain purpose but kept in state coffers to help balance the budget, said Senate Finance Committee Chairman Tommy Williams, R-The Woodlands.

But he said it ultimately might take two or three sessions “to bring that in for a landing.”

Pitts said the House version would reduce reliance on those dedicated fund balances, a key provision for those advocating more honest budgeting.